


Woman's Best Friend

by jane_fucking_seymour



Category: Six - Marlow/Moss
Genre: Pax the dog, dog!!!!!!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-15
Updated: 2020-03-10
Packaged: 2020-05-12 02:04:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19219360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jane_fucking_seymour/pseuds/jane_fucking_seymour
Summary: After months of waiting, Katherine Howard gets a service dog named Pax. Here's just some of the antics she and her new friend get into.





	1. Chapter 1

Katherine had only had Pax for about a week.

Pax was her service dog; a long time coming, it took months to get the proper paperwork and clearances for him. He was a stunning Husky/German Shepard mix, the biggest dog they had available. Kat had fallen in love with him the moment they met, and Pax hadn’t let her go anywhere without falling her around that day.

After an hour of them together, Kat has already seemed far more calm and confident. It was a done deal soon after, and the handlers began the transition period.

There was some hiccups here and there - he was confused by the other Queens sometimes and he got lost within the huge flat, but with some patience and time together he and Katherine has figured out an unspoken system between the two. Sure, it had only been a week since he had moved into the house, but already he was making quite the difference. The other queens - Jane and Boleyn especially - were very happy with the current results.

Today proved to be even more positive, as Katherine and Pax walked into the kitchen a little bit later than usual.

“Good morning, love,” Jane says, smiling at her. “Sleep well?”

“Yeah,” Kat says, though she’s picking up her bag. Jane tilts her head.

“Where are you off to?”

“I’m gonna head out, get some breakfast myself,” she explains, looking down at Pax. “Walk him a bit.”

“Alright,” Jane says, starting to move to the sink to wash her hands. “I’ll be ready in a moment-”

“Oh, no,” Kat says. It’s an awkward moment between the two, but Kat smiles. “I just… I kinda wanna go alone.”

“Alone?” Jane asks, though not unkindly. “Are you sure?”

“I just… I wanna push myself a bit, now that I have Pax,” she explains. She winces at a thought. “Not that I don’t wanna go with you usually! Of course I do, Mum, I just, I wanna-”

“No, no, I understand,” Jane replies, her tone full of patience and love. “You just want to test it, I get it. Just keep your phone on you, okay? If something happens, don’t be afraid to call.”

“I’m not going to go far, just down the street to that new cafe that opened up,” Kat explains. 

“Oh, the one on the corner?” Jane asks. 

“Just a two minute walk, I don’t want to be far away in case something happens,” she explains, grabbing Pax’s leash and harness. With both of those on, the girl leaves. “I’ll see you soon, mum!”

When the door closes, Aragon - who had watched the whole exchange from her spot at the counter - makes an impressed noise. “Already headed out by herself? That dog’s a god send.” She looks over at Jane. “You alright?”

“Of course,” Jane says, smiling. “It’s honestly a relief, seeing her adapt so well. At the moment, at least, getting that dog’s been the best decision we ever made.” She takes her tea, takes a sip, then heads off to her room. She had some time to herself now and she intended to use it to the best of her ability… but keep her phone nearby, of course.

Down the block, Pax lays down calmly next to Katherine’s chair, looking around as Katherine eats. It feels weird, not being with anyone else - especially not one of the Queens - but it also felt… nice. Normal. Something she could handle. Any time she felt a bit of distress, she simply scratched Pax’s head and the feelings lifted. Touch was something Kat desperately needed when she felt anxious or threatened - until now, it had been clinging onto Jane or Parr or one of the other queens, but now with Pax around, she had that without bothering anyone else. A win-win, in her book.

They’re first tested a moment later, when a man walks up to Katherine.

“Hello there, sweetheart,” he says. “I was wondering if-”

He stops, though, when Pax starts to growl. Pax hasn’t even looked up at him, instead just growling. The guy looks a bit startled.

“Uhm,” he tries again. “If I could buy you a drink?”

“It’s 8 AM,” Kat says, raising an eyebrow. “Bit too early, no?”

“You’ve never heard of Mimosa’s?” he asks. It’s supposed to be a joke, but he’s not laughing. 

“No thanks,” Kat says, looking back down at the menu. They’ve got pet-friendly things as well; one of the reasons why she chose this place-

He suddenly puts a hand down on the menu, making her look up with a bit of fear.

“One drink,” he says, trying to be charming, but clearly this is the type of guy that doesn’t take no for an answer.

Just as Kat’s about to say something, though, Pax is instantly on his feet, barking and making a scene. Kat looks around quickly; other people are noticing. The man quickly backs off and runs off.

The server moves over.

“Is everything alright?” the waiter asks, looking down at Pax. As soon as the guy left, Pax went quiet, moving to put his head in Kat’s lap. Just as he was taught.

Kat smiles and gently pets the top of his head.

“It’s perfect,” she says quietly. 

An hour and a half later, Jane’s considering calling Kat to check in when she walks through the door. “Hey, love, how did it go?”

“It went really well!” she says as she unhooks Pax. Pax instantly moves forward and goes over to Cleves, who welcomes the dog home with some scratches. “Pax even protected me from a guy today. And he helped with some anxiety. It’s… really wonderful.”

Jane has such a brilliant smile on her face. Cleves looks down at the dog with a smile.

“Good boy, protecting Kitty-Kat like that,” she says. She’s got a treat for him, which he takes happily.

“I’m gonna go get ready for the show,” Kat says, though she’s quick to move over to kiss Jane’s cheek. “Unless you want me to hang around?”

“No, no, do what you must, sweetheart,” Jane says with a smile. “I’ll be here if you need me.”

Kat nods and moves towards the stairs. Pax instantly takes notice and follows her, even disregarding the second treat Cleves offers in favor of following Kat before she leaves his sight.

“Quite the pup she’s got there,” Cleves says. Jane can’t stop smiling.

When they get to the theater, Pax follows Katherine into the dressing room that Kat shared with Jane and Parr. While they got ready, Pax wandered around the room, curiously looking and at all the stuff in there.

“He always gets so curious about this room,” Kat says. “Every time we’ve been here, he’s always so confused or something.”

“There’s a lot going on in here,” Parr says. “Maybe that’s why.” she calls his name and Pax moves over to sit next to her. She gently scratches behind his ear and he leans into the touch.

They get downstairs for warm ups and Pax sits in his designated area - a box is taped onto the ground next to the stage manager’s main hub, where the dog sits during the performance. It’s out of the line of sight of the audience, but Kat can see him - and vice versa - during the show. From what Jane’s seen, it’s been a big confidence booster for the girl, especially after her song.

Pax keeps his eyes on Katherine as she moves around the stage. He doesn’t look at anything else, even as the lights flash. He winces a bit at the sounds of the instruments, but thankfully it’s not too loud where he’s standing. Kat makes a note to possibly get him some sort of ear protection before the next show.

An hour later, they’re calling for places.

Kat kneels down in front of Pax, giving him a soft smile. “You’ll be on your best behavior today, too, right?” she asks him. She barely manages to dodge a lick to the cheek, giggling. 

One of the swings steps up. “I’ll be right by him to make sure he doesn’t go anywhere,” she promises. It was one of the things that had to be done during the show while he was still technically in training. The swings didn’t seem to mind all that much if at all; it was helping Kat and they got paid to hang out with a dog all performance. Total wins as far as they were concerned.

With a soft smile and a thank you, Kat heads to the other Queens. They get themselves ready for the show to start.

The guy from the morning plays in her mind and she can’t help a few ‘what if’ scenarios that she doesn’t want to think about. She’s starting to get more and more anxious the more she thinks about it.

Jane’s song doesn’t help. She tries to let it soothe her the way it almost always does, but something about today is just… different. Way more different than usual. She has to assume it’s because of today’s incident at breakfast; if the man hadn’t been scared off, what could have-?

She’s not breathing properly and reality is starting to fade. This isn’t good.

She could barely breathe as she stumbled over to the props for Haus of Holbein. Jane hadn’t seen her fall to her knees, nor did anyone else as they moved to the costumes. Her head is pounding, world spinning; she can feel her breathing start to pick up, body shaking…

… but then, she feels a soft, gentle pressure against her shoulder.

She opens her eyes - when did she close them? - and there is Pax, gently nuzzling against her. He whines softly, giving her a few licks as well. She chuckles and scratches behind his ear.

“That’ll mess up my makeup,” she says, but she’s already a lot calmer. She’s grounded now, Pax being able to give her a moment to get herself together. His tail wags and he nuzzles into her even more. She giggles until a soft hand is on her shoulder. She looks up and it’s Jane, looking concerned.

“Are you alright, love?” she asks, tilting her head.

Kat nods. “Yeah, yeah, I am now,” she says. She gently kisses the top of Pax’s head before standing up. Jane helps with her collar and Kat rushes onto the stage with the rest of the group.

While performing, Jane notices that every once in a while Kat glances towards the side of the stage, smiles a little bit, visibly relaxes and then continues on with the scene. Jane can see why; Pax is sitting against the curtain, next to the stage manager’s station, always keeping a watchful eye on Katherine.

When the MegaSix happens, Kat is a bit faster than usual to walk off, moving over to Pax. She crouches down to him and raises a hand. Pax looks at it before giving what Jane could only call his version of a high five.

The dog walks off with his owner as Jane watches, amused.

When they get outside, there’s the familiar rush of fans wanting to get pictures and autographs, which Kat manages to do. Jane keeps a close eye on her, but with Pax there, it really does seem to make a huge difference.

When they get home, Kat is the first to say goodnight. She and Pax retire for the evening, closing their door. Jane smiles a bit sadly now; her girl really is off being as independent as she could be now. As much as she loves to see Kat handling things on her own in a healthy way, she can’t help but be a bit sad. So many memories of the past year has been of her and Kat; they were always so close, but now… now that was in jeopardy. Would she even want to talk to her at all now that she has a new support system-?

“Mum?”

Jane’s interrupted from her thoughts and looks up. Kat’s on the stairs.

“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” she asks, moving to the stairs. Kat looks a bit embarrassed.

“Can I…” she sighs. “Can I sleep with you tonight? I just… I miss you.”

Jane’s gaze softens.

“You know,” she says, pouring the full cup of tea into the sink. “I was just about to head to bed anyways.”

She gets up the stairs and sees Pax waiting near Jane’s door, a big yawn as his greeting for his owner’s mother. He follows into the room, getting settled in the massive dog bed Jane had for him. 

Kat instantly cuddles up to Jane the moment she gets into bed after changing into more comfortable clothes.

“Comfy?” Jane teases, smiling brightly at the girl. Kat nods, fighting off sleep already. “Are you alright, love?”

“Yeah, ‘course,” Kat mumbles. “I’m with you.”

Jane’s heart soars at that.

“I just,” Kat continues, “I didn’t get to see a lot of you today. I’m sorry for bothering you now, but I just… we didn’t get to talk a lot.” she looks over at Pax, who has fallen asleep, his guard down now that he knew Kat was safe because Jane was there. “He’s great, but he’s no you. And I know it’s probably annoying, to constantly hear from me, but we didn’t talk a lot today even for normal people’s standards and-”

“Sweetheart,” Jane says seriously, looking the girl in the eye. “I will be here for you to talk to - or not talk to - for as long as you’ll allow me to be. I always want to hear what you have to say. You’re never a bother. I’ll admit, I missed you today, too, but think of the progress you’ve been making, love. It’s not that you  _need_ to disappear from the house on us for hours at a time on your own - none of us really do that, not even Parr - it’s that you have the ability to and are okay with doing so. That never would have happened last month, let alone when we all first met.” 

She gently kisses Kat’s forehead. “It’s progress I wasn’t expecting so soon, but you’ll find a balance between doing stuff yourself and hanging out with the rest of us. I’m sure of it.”

Kat looks Jane in the eye, a bit emotional at it all.

“You’re always so supportive, mum,” she says, yawning and moving into Jane more. “I just… I don’t know what I did to deserve you.”

“You are you and you deserve the world, Katherine,” Jane says quietly, eyes closing as she wraps her arms around Kat. “I love you, Kitty-Kat.”

“I love you too, mum. G’night.”

They drift off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Jane Seymour has been hanging out in the living room, working on some needlework for a top she was making for Parr. Even after hundreds of years of not doing it, Seymour’s craftsmanship with needles was by far the best out of the queens and some of the best anyone had seen around the Internet. With Aragon’s help, she’d even started to take photos of it and post them online, where she had managed to get a respectable fan base for her work.

It was calming, especially as her anxiety seemed to rise the more Katherine got her independence. She was proud of her girl for taking care of herself and becoming more and more self-reliant, though Jane promised her that if she ever needed something or she was in trouble, Jane Seymour would be there at he drop of a hat.

The main objective for Pax was to help Kat avoid panic attacks, yes, but when they happened anyways - an uncommon occurrence, but still happened - he was to alert one of the others so Kat could get help. Usually, he went to Jane, which seemed to be what he was doing right now.

He suddenly comes running into the living room, whining loudly and nuzzling into Jane. At first, she thought he wanted pets, but when he lightly bit her skirt and tried to pull her off the couch, her heart sank.

“Where Kitty, Pax?” She asks. “What’s wrong?”

He’s quick to run off, stopping every few seconds to make sure Jane was still following. He ends up sitting next to where Kat is on the ground on the kitchen floor.

When her daughter spots her, the younger woman can’t help but stare, eyes wide, as she looks at Jane as she speaks:

“Katherine?”

 

It had started because Kat was hungry.

She had smelled the cookies from her room, where she had been laying on her bed on her phone. Pax’s ears perked up and he looked at her from his bed when she sees her moving.

“It’s alright, boy,” Kat says gently. “No worries, in just… gonna get a snack.”

She tip-toes into the hallway, careful to keep her eyes on the retreating form of Jane Seymour as she moved into the living room. With her mother settled and throughly distracted, Kat crouched down and continued to sneak around.

A soft whine from Pax made her jump, but then she shushed him.

“Not now, boy, go away, go sit over there,” she says. When he follows closer, trying to nuzzle into her, she scowls and gently pushes him away. “It’s not the time to cuddle, Pax!” She says. He backs off, sadly whining before rushing away.

Kat feels bad for pushing him away, but she’s certain he’ll be fine. He’s probably headed back to her room or something.

She’s almost as the cookies when she hears someone clear her throat behind her. When she turns, her eyes go wide.

“Katherine?” Jane asks. “What *exactly* are you doing?”

“Uh….” she stands up, trying to look innocent. It’s not working. “I was just… finding my ring!” She says. Showing her a ring. “Found it, ha, we’re good now.”

“Oh really?” Jane asks. “You weren’t trying to steal some cookies before dinner, now, would you?”

Kat tries to speak a few times, but in the end she just gives up the act. “How did you know?”

Jane smirks devilishly and turns around. “Good boy, Pax!”

Sure enough, the doggo sits loyally next to Jane, tail wagging at a job well done.

“What??? Pax, what the hell???” Katherine asks, eyes wide. “Betrayal!”

“I think he thought you were having an anxiety attack, love,” Jane says with a chuckle. “That’s why he came to me.” She kneels down and gives Pax affection, scratching behind his ears.

Kat softens at that; she felt bad for making him worry. Pax moves over and puts his head to her shoulder; it’s what he’s been taught to do when he can’t put his head in her lap. She chuckles softly and wraps her arms around him.

“Good boy,” she mumbles. “I’m sorry, Paxy.”

The dog just wags his tail even harder.

Jane rises up. “Well, now that that’s done… go away.”

Kat looks up, shocked. “What?!?”

“No cookies for you, go away,” Jane replies simply, though she’s smiling brightly.

“But we had a moment! That’s deserving of a cookie, right?” Kat asks, puppy dog eyes in effect.

“No, Katherine, you don’t-“ she starts, but as she moves past Kat and Pax, she feels something weird under her foot.

Pax yelps loudly.

Jane jumps away, eyes wide; she’s stepped on his tail.

“Oh, Pax, I’m so sorry!” Jane says, instantly kneeling down next to him. He leans in and gives her kisses as Jane gives him as much affection as she can. “Oh, love, are you okay?”

“He seems fine,” Kat says, looking over the tail. She runs a hand over it and Pax starts wagging it without issue. “Probably just a fright, Jane, I think he’s fine.”

He continues to nuzzle into Jane, tail wagging the more Jane returns the affection.

“I’m sorry, love, it’s alright, I didn’t mean to hurt you,”

Jane honestly feels terrible about it, but the dog’s seemingly forgiven her already. Still, it didn’t help Jane’s guilt.

“Come on, Pax,” Kat says, standing up. “Let’s get going before *someone* goes after either of us again,” She quips, winking at Jane. Jane moves away and lets them by.

The rest of the night goes fine, with them arriving at dressing room on time. After the show, Jane gives Parr the shirt she’d been working on.

“Oh, it’s beautiful,” Parr says. “Thanks, Jane, it’s perfect.”

“Of course,” Jane replies, smiling brightly at her. “I’m glad you like it. Now I just need a new project, I’ve missed doing that.”

As she says that, Kat walks in with Pax. When Kat, still in costume, stops to talk to Parr, Pax sitting next to her, Jane gets an idea. Smiling to herself, she simply goes to get changed as the other two discuss their plans for the night.

Everyone decides to just head home tonight - the most common outcome of a good show. They walk home, Kat and Cleves staying out a bit longer to give Pax an extra bit of exercise per usual routine, and Jane gets to her room and starts the preparations. When Kat comes in that night asking to sleep in her room that night - which she obviously agrees to - Jane waits for Kat to be fully asleep before she sneaks out of bed. She gives Kat her pillow to latch onto, which Kat does.

Jane gently moves over to Pax, waking him up. He yawns before looking up at Jane with a sleepy tilt of his head.

“Hullo,” She says, gently scratching behind his ear. “I know it’s late, but I had an idea and I need your help.”

She gets him to sit up, taking her tape measure and doing various measurements. The dog quietly stays as still as he can, though he does almost fall back asleep a few times. She’s done a few minutes later, everything recorded in her notebook. With a gentle smile, she moves him to lay back down.

“There you go, thank you,” Jane says. With a gentle kiss to his head, she goes back to bed. He’s asleep before her head hits her pillow.

Kat instantly seems to register the warmth of Jane as soon as she enters the bed. She immediately latches onto her, still asleep. Jane just smiles.

The next day - their off day - Jane gets the materials needed from a few craft shops around the area. Kat is off with Parr and Aragon at a fair, so Jane is able to work on this relatively quickly. By the time they return, she’s halfway done with an intricate part of the project.

Kat goes back to her room with Pax and Boleyn wanders over to where Jane is working in her room. “Whatcha got there?” Boleyn asks, tilting her head.

When Jane lifts it up, Boleyn gasps. “Oh, that’s perfect, Jane!”

“You think so?” Jane asks, chuckling as she moves it down and continues to work on it. “It’s been a while since I worked on something this complex.”

“Your work was always better than any of ours,” Boleyn admits, “and it still is today. Kat’s gonna love it.”

It’s done just before they head to the theater the next day.

When they do, Jane is the quickest to change into her costume (that never happens) and asks to borrow Pax for a minute or two.

“Oh? Why?” Kat asks, tilting her head. “You’ve never asked to borrow him before.”

“It’s a surprise,” Jane replies. “And it’ll only be for a few minutes.”

“Okay,” Kat says, nodding. “I trust you.”

Jane smiles and nods, moving to Pax’s lead and leading him away. He keeps an eye on Kat until he can’t anymore. Kat frowns, nervous, but Parr puts a gentle hand on the girl’s shoulder.

“It’s alright, she’ll be back in five, probably.” Parr replies. “We can hang out until then.”

“Do you know what she’s doing?” Kat asks Parr curiously.

“Yeah,” she replies, but goes back to getting ready.

A beat.

“… not gonna say, are you, Parr?”

“Nope.”

“Please?”

“Nah.”

“Lame.”

Parr laughs.

Kat continues to get ready, makeup on, when Jane comes back in. For a moment, Kat wonders where Pax is, but then he rounds the corner… and Kat gasps, lighting up immediately.

Pax has a costume on; hers. He’s got a miniature Katherine Howard costume.

“Oh, it’s adorable!” Kat says, instantly down to pet him and look it over. It’s almost an exact replica. “Is this what you’ve been working on after that shirt for Parr?”

“Yeah,” Jane replies, smiling. “Hopefully this makes up for the tail stepping incident yesterday.”

“Oh, I’m sure it does! Doesn’t it, Pax?” Kat asks, giving him pets. Pax seems to not mind the costume. “You look great! We match now- hang on, Parr, can you take a photo of Pax and I and then of us two and Jane?”

Parr does exactly that and Kat immediately shares both photos to social media; people are living for it.

When Pax sits in his regulated spot during the show, the Queens can’t help but smile at him once or twice.

“You know,” Boleyn says as they’re off stage getting ready for Haus of Holbein, “next thing he needs is these,” She motions to the props.

“Honestly thought about it,” Jane says, “but I didn’t know those from memory.”

“That was all from memory?” Kat asks, impressed.

“Of course, love,” Jane replies with a smile as she hooks on her collar.

“It’s perfect,” Kat says. With a gentle pet to Pax’s head, they continue on with the show.

Once it’s over, everyone gets changed - save for Pax, who is still in costume come stage door. He’s the life of the party then, with everyone asking for photos with him. He sits well enough, though he gets jumpy when he can’t see Kat. Kat sticks close to him happily, and the two make it work.

When they get home, Kat takes off the costume.

“I don’t think he’ll wear that every day,” Kat says as she sits down on the couch, “it seems to give him a bit more attention than he wants, but every once in a while should be good. It’s a special occasion sorta thing.”

“I think that makes sense,” Jane replies, a hand running through his fur as he lays down across their lap. His head is in Kat’s lap, of course, and she is quick to lean her own head against Jane’s shoulder.

“It was brilliant, thanks, Mum,” she mumbles, smiling down at Pax. The dog simply gives kisse as a response.

The next day, however, proves to be a test.

Katherine hadn’t been feeling too great. There was an issue with a man approaching her just before as she left the flat, then she was catcalled on the way, and now she was anxious. It was also one of the anniversary’s she’d rather forget - ones that she kept to herself. On this day, all those years ago, was her first music lesson. Her teacher? Henry Mannox.

She’s never told the others she knew the exact date - not even Jane - because she didn’t want them to worry. She was confident that nothing would happen, and usually it didn’t, but the morning’s events seemed to push her over the top.

She doesn’t want to think about it, but the flashbacks are coming in droves by the time she makes it to the dressing room. Parr and Jane both seem to register that Kat’s a bit off, but she’s still talkin and replying to things like normal.

When Jane and Parr are called downstairs to text out their new earpieces, they think nothing of it.

Parr went on first and there’s no incident. When Jane goes on, a few minutes into the rehearsal of Heart of Stone, that’s when things take a turn.

Parr’s simply watching from the wings, smiling st the performance. Jane’s was a fan favorite and she herself loved hearing it sing time Jane sang it. Just as she went into the second verse, though, Parr saw a flash of white to her right.

Pax.

Pax is anxiously looking at Jane, taking a few steps forward before moving back; he knows he’s not allowed on stage, but apparently he really wants to go. Parr looks around; Kat’s not there.

He looks at Parr then and is quick to bother her instead, growling and head butting her legs.

“What’s up, pup?” Parr asks, leaning down to pet him. He refuses pets and moves towards the stairs.

“Is it Kat?” Parr asks, heart sinking. When he dashed up the stairs, she follows.

She follows the dog into the dressing room and gasps - a costume rack was tossed over and Katherine’s limp form was against the wall. Her head was dropped against her chest, her eyes glassy and distant. She’s barely breathing.

A panic attack.

“Katherine?” Parr ssks, voice distressed but doing her best to stay calm. “Kat, hey, I need you to wake up, Katherine. Come on, love.”

She looks over at Pax, who is whining. When they make eye contact, Parr decides it’s better a risk than any.

“Can you go get Jane?” She asks. She’s not sure he can, and he tilts his hea dconfusedly. “Jane. Go to Jane. Uh… fetch Jane?” She tries. He seems to comprehend something, dashing out of the room.

She knows Jane left her phone here, so even if Pax doesn’t get her, she’ll be back soon enough. She just hopes it’s in time.

Meanwhile, Parr continues to try to wake Kat up. She’s barely breathing even now, completely unresponsive.

“Hey, Kat, come on,” She taps the girl’s cheeks, trying to wake her up. Nothing. “Katherine, can you hear me? It’s Parr, love, Jane’s on her way.”

Kat stirs for a moment, head rolling from her chest to her shoulder before dropping back down. It’s better than nothing.

“Come on, Kat, I need you awake,” Parr says seriously. Just as she’s about to give up hope, a flash of white fur appears again, as does a flash of blonde.

Jane Seymour.

“Katherine?” Jane asks. She does things differently, repositioning Kat so she’s sitting up more, hands gently holding Katherine’s head up and maintaining eye contact with Kat. Pax whines, moving into Kat’s lap and also kissing her cheek.

Parr moves away as Jane and Pax work together. A few seconds later, Kat’s gasped awake.

“What… what’s happened?” She asks, disorientated. Jane smiles.

“It’s alright, just a little panic attack, you’re okay,” she says gently. “Here, Pax is right here, see him?”

Kat looks down and nods, a little dazed, but Pax helps ground her. She gently cards her fingers through Pax’s soft fur.

“What happened?” Jane asks gently.

Kat frowns. “Today’s Mannox day,” she mumbles. “First music lesson.”

“Oh, love,” Jane says gently. “It’s alright. He’s not here, he can’t hurt you.”

“I know,” Kat mumbles, “but still. There were these two guys when I was waking here, and…” she sniffles at that. She feels ashamed that this is still affecting her so badly, but she can’t change that.

Pax moves to nuzzle into her more.

“Can we get a swing in for me?” Kat asks. “I just… I can’t go through my song tonight.”

“Of course,” Parr says. “I’ll get one of them on.”

“Me, too-“ Jane starts, but Kat shakes her head.

“No, Mum, you go on,” she replies. “I’ve got Pax, we’ll be okay.”

Jane blinks. “Are you sure?”

Kat nods. “I’ve got this - we’ve got this.” She motions down to Pax. “I’ll just be sleeping anyways. These things take a lot out of me.”

“Alright,” Jane says with a nod. “Just… if there is anything, don’t hesitate to send for me.”

Jane stays there, onl standing up - though not before giving Kat a kiss on the forehead - as they call for places.

Kat lies down, about to use Jane’s bag as a pillow, before she realizes she’s got a better one right in front of her.

“Lie down, Pax,” Kat says. When he does, she gently lays her head down on him. When he doesn’t seem to mind - he actually curls up around her - she smiles.

“Good boy,” she mumbles, relaxing.

They’re somewhat hidden behind the cleaned up costume rack, though Kat could see a swing or two Wandering in to check up on her every once in a while. She closes her eyes after she hears the end of “Ex-Wives.”

When she opens them again, she finds Jane.

Jane’s in her normal clothes - the others are too, a few feet away.

“Hullo, Love,” Jane says. “Ready to go?”

“Show’s over already?” She asks, sitting up and stretching. Pax is still laid down, asleep.

“Yeah, we finished about half an hour ago, you must have really needed the rest.” Jane looks over at Pax. “Wake him up and we’ll get going. You two deserve a proper bed.”

Kat moves down again to wake Pax up. He yawns, a bit unsteady as he sits up, then yawns again.

“Tried, boy?” Kat asks, gently scratching behind his ear. “We’ll get home now.”

When they do, Jane instantly directs Kat to her bedroom. When she gets there, she finds Pax moving to his bed on the ground.

Kat looks a bit nervous.

“Do you want him to sleep with us tonight, Kat?” Jane asks. Kat looks relieved and nods. “Alright, just this once.”

Kat smiles and picks up the doggo - a bit funny due to how big he was vs how small she was - and he gets plopped onto the bed. His tail wags faster than she’s ever seen it as he wiggles around on the bed for the moment.

“Yeah, yeah, enjoy it, love,” Jane says, amused. “This is only because of how well you protected Kat today. You were perfect.” She rubs his stomach, which gets his foot going. “Good boy.”

Kat settles into bed as Jane does with Pax curled up against Kat’s back as she cuddles into Jane.

“Parr said he went to get you, saw you on stage, and went for her instead? Then apparently he came to get you later?”

Jane nods. “As soon as I was done with my sound check, he wouldn’t leave me alone and I followed him up to you. He’s very, very well trained.”

“He did perfect,” Kat agrees. “And you got to go on after all and I didn’t have nightmares. That was the best possible outcome.”

“He’s helped so much,” Jane agrees. “I’m glad it’s working out so well, love. It’s like night and day when he’s here.”

“He’s the best,” Kat agrees. “Just… thank you. For helping me get him and for helping me figure it out.”

“I didn’t do anything, love, that was all you and your cleverness,” Jane quips. “You two make a great team. The four of us together is near unstoppable.”

Kat chuckles and moves into Jane more. Within minutes, they’re both asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Figuring out where Pax fit in at the bar was a bit of a challenge; he was quite the big dog, so originally the girls thought he’d prefer sitting on the side. That, however, proved to be a bit difficult, with someone always managing to either trip or almost trip over the dog.

They ended up somewhat hiding him under the table, which seemed a bit safer so long as no one swung their legs out. Thanks to there being six people (at the very least) at the booth, there was more than enough room for Pax to comfortably hang out under the big table and be out of the way for the rest of the bar guests. Most didn’t even notice him under there, and he didn’t seem to mind so long as he could see Kat.

Sometimes, he would be laying under the table at Kat’s feet while other times he had his head poking out from under it and laying on the seat in between Jane and Kat; it depended on how Kat was feeling that day. He also sometimes went over to the other queens, but that depended on if they had food or pets for him. In general, it was a good situation for all of them: Kat was still calm and still had that extra support and the others could relax a bit more knowing that she was still covered even in the bar.

When Kat left to go to the restroom, she had told Pax to stay put; it was a really busy night and she didn’t want him to follow into the packed bar. He sat under the table obediently, though Kat could have sworn she heard him whimper.

“I’ll be right back,” Kat promises, getting up with Parr and headed to the restroom. At first, Jane thought nothing of it, but then she felt something hit her knees. When she looked down, Jane chuckled at the scruffy face looking up at her from under the table.

“Well hello there,” She quips, gently scratching the bridge of his snout. “Are you comfy?”

Pax ruffed in response, tail wagging a bit.

“Good, good,” Jane says, gently petting the dog. “I don’t have any food for you, though, I’m sorry love.”

He tries to lick Jane’s hand, but the woman pulls it away before he can. She smiles down at him even more.

“You know, I’ve got a lot to thank you for,” Jane says. “You’re keeping my girl safe. Probably more safe than I ever could. So thanks for that.” He ruffs, as if accepting the gratitude. Jane smiles a bit, watching him retreat under the table and like his head out towards the front, looking around for Kat. When he doesn’t see her, he whines.

“She’ll be back soon, love, I promise,” Jane replies. He moves back to putting his head on her lap, sad whines barely being heard over the chaos of the bar.

Aragon moves over then and, instantly, Pax moves over to her. She chuckles, petting his head.

“Kat’s still waiting with Parr for the restroom,” Aragon says. “She’ll be back a bit later than expected, Pax.”

Pax seems to deflate then. 

“He’s really cute,” Aragon says, moving a bit so Cleves can also enter the booth. Pax puts his head right between Aragon and Cleves to give both of them his attention at once.

“He’s been really well behaved,” Cleves remarks. “Barely even an incident since that transition period.”

“He helped me foil Katherine’s attempt to steal cookies the other day,” Jane remembers fondly. “He’s certainly doing his best.”

“Good boy,” Cleves says with a smile and a pet. They continue talking until Katherine and Parr get back.

“I’m going to go for a walk with Pax,” Katherine declares as soon as she returns.

Jane frowns. “It’s a bit late, love, shouldn’t you-” she starts, but Kat shakes her head.

“I’ll be fine, mum, I’ve got Pax,” she explains.

“Yeah, but it’s still late,” Parr tries. “Maybe one of us can go with you?”

Katherine frowns, looking down at the dog. He’s completely attentive on her. 

“No, no,” she says. “We’ll be fine, I’m sure of it.”

Famous last words.

They leave easy enough, but about ten minutes in, Kat already feels anxious. Pax tries to console her, but the feeling of being alone - this late at night - it’s worrying, so she goes back to the bar. Jane and the others had been right, she supposed.

She’s moved into the alley next to the bar for literally a second while Pax does his thing. When she turns back around, she’s immediately confronted by a guy.

“Hey, pretty lady~” the guy says, moving over to Kat. He looks wasted. “I’ve been watching you all night, how about we-“

“Not interested,” Kat says, moving along. She didn’t feel as nervous as she usually would, thanks to the massive dog next to her. The guy “accidentally” bangs into her, sending her stumbling into the alley a bit more.

“Good, because I’m not either,” he growls, seemingly totally sober suddenly. He moves back over to Kat so she’s against the wall. He’s got a drink in one hand and a knife in the other.

“Wallet. Now.” 

He doesn’t stop when Pax growls, though he does stumble when Pax hits into him. He looks down at the dog, angry at it getting in the way, and pours some alcohol over the dog’s back to try to get it to move.

“Hey!” Kat yells, but when Pax backs off to try to dodge the pour, the guy steps forward and pins her against the wall.

At this, Pax barks even louder, moving to headbutt the man.

Kat can only watch in horror as Pax is kicked in the stomach.

The dog yelps, tumbling to the ground. Pax continues to whine as he tries to get up, but there seems to be something wrong. Still, he’s looking at Kat the entire time, pain-filled eyes wanting nothing more but to protect his master.

“Shit-” he starts, but then he goes towards Katherine, pulling her towards the knife-

He makes an “OOF” sound when he’s successfully head-butted by the massive dog this time. The dog growls and snarls and keeps him pinned under him. He throws his drink but it doesn’t deter Pax.

Pax tries to hold him off, but eventually the guy gets the better end of the deal, once again grabbing Pax. He’s thrown to the side and kicked into the dumpster before he goes still.

Kat’s eyes go wide and she slides down the side of the wall. Pax wasn’t moving, she can’t tell if he’s breathing. Is he... could he...

“Now then,” the guy says. He grabs Kat’s arm and moves towards her pockets; she tries to get him off, struggling with him.She yelps when she feels something sharp against her arm, then again against her collarbone. Still, she keeps fighting with the man; Pax was injured and she couldn’t risk him getting hurt again. 

She manages to throw her attacker against the wall, throwing him away from Pax. She’s just about to continue forward to go after him again when she hears a growl behind her.

Pax is there, and he’s not giving up.

He makes more noise - as much noise as he can as he blocks the exit. He tries to go for Katherine again, but she just throws him away. It’s then that two women turn the corner, having been alerted by the dog’s barking.

“Pax?” Jane asks, but she stops when she sees what’s happened.

Kat looks over, relieved, but then the man suddenly yanks her over and hides behind her, a knife to her throat.

“Don’t anyone move,” he growls out. He watches as three others turn the corner to look at what’s going on - Parr, Boleyn and Cleves.

“Kat?” Aragon asks. “Are you alright?”

Kat quietly nods, eyes squeezing shut when the man holds the blade a bit closer to her neck.

It’s seven versus one.

These aren’t good odds.

He goes to adjust his grip, but Katherine struggles, biting his hand to get him to drop the knife. When Cleves and Boleyn advance, he simply throws Kat roughly into the nearby dumpster and runs off. Katherine hits her head and lands unceremoniously to the ground, dazed. Anne’s instantly at her side.

“Katherine?” Boleyn asks, instantly over to her. “Hey, Katherine?”

Jane steps forward then to help while Cleves looks over at the dog. It’s shaking, barely keeping itself up. Cleves gently moves towards it, stopping for a moment when it growls at her. It hasn’t done that before, but she’s pretty sure she knows why now.

“It’s alright, Pax. She’ll be okay,” she says gently, extending a hand. “You don’t look so good, boy.”

He keeps his eyes on Katherine, moving towards her. He’s not walking right and he looks worse for wear but he still sits next to his owner, shaking and whining, trying to help.

“Katherine, hey,” Jane pleads, gently moving Kat so she’s sitting up. “It’s safe now.”

Pax gently licks Katherine’s cheek, whining loudly. He tries to nuzzle against her, do as much as he can to establish contact. It takes a few seconds, but Katherine slowly comes around. She’s bleeding from the two cuts on her arm and her collarbone, but nothing seems too bad, all things considered. Her head’s aching, though.

“Oh, good boy, Pax” she says, gently pulling him over. She wants to hug him but he’s yelped in pain. “We gotta take him to a vet or something,” Kat says; her speech is a bit slurred, eyes glassy. “The guy kicked him a bunch. He looked... he looked dead.”

“I’ll find a place that’s open late,” Cleves promises. Boleyn also nods and starts searching on her phone.

"We should get you somewhere, too,” Aragon says, kneeling next to Kat. “you don’t look so good.”

Parr is keeping Pax as calm as she can. He relaxes into her touch.

“There you go, boy, it’s alright,” Parr mumbles.

“Quite the brave one,” Cleves says, kneeling next to the dog. “Good boy.”

Eventually, Boleyn finds a place and Cleves is quick to gently and carefully pick the dog up to walk towards the vet hospital; fortunately, only two blocks away. They rush off without a second thought.

Katherine goes to move, but she’s moved a bit too quickly; a hand goes to her head as she suddenly feels dizzy. She could have sworn she heard Jane call for her before her world cuts to black.


	4. Chapter 4

****The recovery process was long and hard for both of  them.

Pax had recovered nicely - just a few bad bruises and a broken rib, which recovered easily enough with some rest and time off at the hospital. Once cleared to return home, Jane had picked him up.

“Hey, boy, how’re you doing?” she asks, chuckling when he instantly jumps up to give her kisses as a hello. “I see we’re back in usual spirits, eh? That’s good. Katherine will need that.”

He had tilted his head at the name of his master, tail wagging harder as he sat down in the back.

“I’m glad you’re alright, Pax,” Jane says, starting the car. “I think she needs you now more than ever.”

When he arrived at the house, it was clear he was back to normal, happily moving around and back to his happy, energetic self.

Katherine Howard, however, was a different story.

Physically, Katherine Howard was fine. She had recovered quicker than Pax, only in the hospital overnight for observation. The cuts had healed up and the bruise on her head faded.

Emotionally, however, Jane couldn’t help but notice that she had taken severe steps back.

Kat was far more skittish around people when she walked around. Suddenly, Jane went from having extra time to herself to no time at all, Kat insisting to not go anywhere alone. The others had chipped in as much as they could, but ultimately Jane put the responsibility on herself to make sure Kat felt as safe as possible.

Admittedly, she felt a bit guilty; she should have gone with her that night. She should have insisted and followed them anyways, made up an excuse that she simply wanted to enjoy the night as well, something like that. She shouldn’t have let Kat go off alone that late. It was stupid of her to think it would have been fine.

There were so many risks that worked out well with Pax there, but this seemed to be one too many.

“Jane?”

She looks up to see Kat. Kat’s curled in on herself a bit, looking down at the ground. She’s barely looked up at anyone since the incident.

Jane gives her a gentle smile. “What’s up, love?”

“Can we…” she starts, trying to formulate the question proper. “I was just wondering, if we could go to the store?”

Jane hates how hesitant she sounds; it feels like this is the Kat from last year, the scared, timid Katherine Howard that was still trying her best to overcome years of trauma. It broke Jane’s heart to see such a regression when she knows how much progress she had made.

“Of course, love, let me get my things.” she says, moving away from the dishes. She just thinks that she’ll finish them up later when Aragon appears out of nowhere and picks up where Jane left off. With a smile of thanks to her, she continues to her room.

Pax is waiting quietly next to Kat, tail wagging a bit when he sees Jane approach. Jane gently pets him, giving him a soft smile before looking up at Kat. “Ready?”

Kat instantly hooks her arm around Jane and walks with her down the street. They pass the dog cafe, which Kat hadn’t gone to since the incident. They pass the bookstore, where Kat not longer spent hours at a time with Pax, alone, lost in books. They pass the Starbucks where Pax used to always got his own Pupperchino. All of it Kat didn’t even look up at, instead keeping her head down and on Pax as she walked.

“How’re you feeling?” Jane asks, checking in on her. “We can stop and go home if you’d like.”

Often times, they did; this is the farthest that Kat has made it out of the house since that day.

“No, no,” Kat mumbles, shaking her head. “It’s just a little farther.”

Jane smiles. It’s progress, at least.

“Alright, love,” she says happily.

They get to the store and it’s empty; Jane’s incredibly relieved at that. They move silently through the aisles, Pax taking the lead as Kat leads Jane to where they were headed. She stops at dog food, cereal and - Jane smiles at this one - chocolate.

Jane feels Katherine’s arm snake tighter around hers when a man walks through the aisle. He’s just minding his own business, not bothering them at all, but Katherine’s already shaking.

“It’s alright, love,” Jane says gently, softly, keeping her head close to Kat’s as she looks down at Pax. The dog is instantly sitting next to Kat, gently pressing his head against Kat’s legs to try to get her attention. When Kat does, she smiles, kneeling down to gently scratch his ears.

“It’s alright, boy,” Katherine mumbles. “We’ll be okay.”

Jane smiles softly at that; it’s a massive improvement, that’s for sure.

“He’s gone now, love,” Jane says gently. “You did brilliantly. Come on, let’s go home.”

They pay for their things and walk out of the store, Pax happily moving around as they walk.

“He seems a lot happier,” Katherine notes. “I just… when it happened…”

“I know, love,” Jane says quietly. “But he’s alright. You both are. The doctor gave both of you a clean bill of health.”

“But what if he’s not next time?” she asks, almost afraid to do so. “What if… what if I’m not enough like last time?”

Jane tilts her head. “What do you mean?”

Kat shakes her head and shuts up. Jane just frowns but continues on.

When they get home, Kat grabs the chocolate and moves to her room, Pax closing the door behind them.

Anne walks down the stairs as Jane sits down on the couch.

“Hey, Jane?” she asks, completely unaware of what just happened. She moves to the bigger couch, opposite of the loveseat Jane is in. “Did you finish that repair on my tank top?”

“Sorry, Anne, I didn’t have time to do it,” Jane replies sympathetically.

Anne softens then, nodding. “It’s alright. I know you’ve got your hands full lately.” she sighs. “She won’t even talk to any of us about it. I checked with Parr, apparently Kat just shies away and goes to her room with her, too.”

“I imagine it’s the same for Aragon and Cleves?” Jane asks with a frown. “She’s barely talking to me nowadays, though she did just chat a bunch when we were out.” She shakes her head. “Still, not as much as before.”

“I could kill that guy,” Boleyn growls out. “This is… this is early Kat. All those months of progress, really good work, just down the drain.”

“She’ll recover,” Jane replies. “If we help her, she’ll recover. And I know the therapist said she would like to see Kat twice a week while she figures all of this out; it’s not been lost on her, either, how different Kat’s become.”

“Has Pax helped with that at all?”

The two look over to find that Aragon has made her way downstairs. She sits next to Boleyn an arm around the back of the couch when Boleyn moves closer to her.

“Not really, not as much as I think anyone had hoped,” Jane replies. “She’s not really talking and the pets and cuddles from Pax don’t seem to have an effect.”

“I think Pax knows something’s up,” Aragon replies. “He seems a bit sadder nowadays.”

“Yeah,” Boleyn nods. “I keep hearing him at night, whining. I think Kat’s having nightmares again, too.”

Jane sighs, putting her head in her hands.

“This recovery will be long and rough, girls,” Jane says. “We just… need to keep going. For her.”

“Of course,” Boleyn replies.

“We’re with you every step of the way, Jane.” Aragon nods. “Promise. I’m sure Cleves and Parr would agree.”

“I appreciate it, both of you,” Jane says with a smile.

It continues for weeks - Katherine doesn’t go anywhere alone, Jane is often the one to pick up the slack.

It’s the fourth week of this when the problems start.

It began with a simple cough.

Jane didn’t think much of it; maybe her throat was just dry or something. But as she continued on that day, she found herself feeling worse and worse. Thankful that she had two days off in a row - one that everyone had off each week plus one of the random times she was scheduled off to help give her voice a break - she decided to head to bed early in the hopes of sleeping off whatever it was.

When the woke up the next day, though, she found herself feeling even worse.

Katherine had poked her head in that morning when she saw that Jane wasn’t up. She looked around the room, Pax entering without a care before he was startled by a sneeze from Seymour.

“Mum?” Kat asks gently, moving over. Jane can barely open her eyes. She’s mumbling something - something about a Parr? - before she falls back into sleep. Kat puts her hand on Jane’s head; it’s very warm.

She moves out of the room and goes to Parr.

“Jane’s sick,” Katherine says quietly, as way of greeting.

Parr frowns and gets up to go into Jane’s room and she makes the same conclusion.

“We don’t have a lot of supplies because of when Anne got sick last week,” Parr mumbles. “And they’re all gone for the day, right? They went off to that show.” Katherine nods, frowning deeper. “I don’t want to leave her alone, in case something happens…” she looks back up at Kat. “Could you and Pax go to the corner store?”

Katherine looks absolutely terrified. “Alone?”

Parr nods, looking over at Jane as she starts mumbling incoherently. “She can’t be left alone like this, Kat. I need your help.”

Katherine is just about to refuse when she hears a soft whine from next to her: it’s Pax. He’s sniffed at Jane’s hand that’s fallen to the side of the bed. He nuzzles against it, whining more. Jane doesn’t respond to it, which seems to only make him more sad. He looks up at Katherine and she can’t help but sigh.

“Alright. We’ll get going.”

“Thank you, Kat,” Parr says with a gentle smile. She pulls out her phone. “I’ll send you what I need. In the meantime, I’ll make her a bit more comfortable.”

Katherine moves away and to the door, where she gets Pax’s leash and harness. At first, Pax sits down next to her, confused.

“Alright, boy,” she mumbles. “We’ll be back quick, as quick as we can, but we gotta help mum get better, alright?” she looks at Pax nervously. “I’m gonna need all the help from you that I can get, Paxy. Do you think you can help me?”

The dog tilts his head for a moment before he leans forward and attacks Katherine with kisses. She chuckles and nods. “Alright, it’s settled. We’ve got this, we have to.”

She stands up, makes sure she has what she needs, then closes the door behind her and Pax.

It’s a beautiful day, which helps quite a bit. She takes a deep breath, looking down at the list Parr just texted her. As she does, Pax’s tail catches her eye; it’s going really, really fast.

“Did you miss this, boy?” Kat asks, tilting her head, a small smile growing on her face. Pax looks back and barks before looking forward again. “I’ll take that as a yes,” she quips.

The sidewalk is crowded and Kat feels anxious; still, she had a job to do. She had to help Jane; she knows she didn’t look so good earlier that day, she wants to help.

She looks only as far up as she needs to in order to get to the store. When she gets there, she’s quick to move through the aisles and grab what was needed; nothing more, nothing less.

She has to wait in line for a few minutes. By the time she gets to the front, she’s shaking and Pax is leaning against her leg, trying to calm her down. It helps a little bit.

She’s all but running back to the house, just trying to get home before anything happens-

-and she doesn’t look where she’s going fast enough, resulting in her hitting into someone.

She lets go of Pax’s leash, who slows to a stop and comes back when he realizes he’s alone. Kat grunts; she saved the bag of supplies, but she still took a pretty bad fall. The other person was still standing.

“Oh! Are you okay, miss?”

She looks up and it’s a younger man looking down at her. She tenses and nods, though already she’s tearing up.

“Do you need a hand-?” he starts, but when he offers, she’s quick to flinch. He stops, frowning, and then sees Pax growling at him.

He backs off, allowing Kat to get up. Pax stops growling when he’s far enough away.

“I’m sorry!” he tries again. “I didn’t see you there.”

Katherine looks over at him and frowns; she can tell he means it. She sighs.

“It’s alright,” she mumbles. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, not a problem,” he gives her a smile. “I’m glad you’re alright, cheers.” he waves and walks off, simple as that.

Katherine watches as he goes, Pax sitting next to her and nuzzling against her leg. She kneels down to give him pets, leaning against his fur. It helps her calm down, center herself.

When she opens her eyes again, she’s ready to keep moving.

She picks up the stuff, picks up the lead and gets away.

The door closes and she’s dropped Pax’s lead on the ground, letting him follow her to where Parr was in Jane’s room.

“Got everything alright?” Parr asks, tilting her head. “I was a bit worried.”

“Pax helped me,” she mumbles. “It… it was fine. Ran into someone by accident and kinda bruised my knee, though.”

“I’ll clean it up if you want? But I want to get Jane settled first.”

Kat nods and Parr gets to work. Kat leans against the door frame while Pax sits loyally next to her after she releases him from the lead and harness. Jane definitely looks better, but not by much.

“I’ll make her some soup,” Parr says. “You shouldn’t be in here, I don’t think she’d want you to get sick.”

Katherine nods, looking sadly at Jane before moving away.

The rest of the day, Katherine is forced into a sudden independence she wasn’t expecting: with the others gone and Parr preoccupied with the sick Jane, she was left to her own devices with Pax.

It… honestly felt nice. Refreshing, even.

By the time Jane Seymour wakes up the next day - lucid for the first time in over 24 hours - she finds that Katherine has gone out again, this time to get medicine from a doctor that Jane doesn’t remember; as it turned out, Parr had called for a doctor, who made the house call late that night. When she returns with the medicine, Kat is relieved to see Jane awake.

“There you are,” Kat says. Pax trots in, sitting next to Jane’s bedside. “I’ve got your medicine… how are you feeling?” she tilts her head.

“Much better, love,” Jane mumbles. “You went out by yourself?”

“Well, had Pax with me,” she explains quietly. “Twice, actually.”

Jane smiles brightly at her, but it’s cut off by a cough. She groans.

“It’s alright, Jane, just rest. Parr, Pax and I will take care of it.” Katherine smiles at her.

As Jane recovers, so does Katherine; Jane gets stronger and Katherine reclaims more and more of her confidence under the guise of helping Seymour get better. Even after Jane fully recovers and the others return from their trip, Katherine continues to go off by herself to places when Jane needs something. In a way, Seymour falling ill was the best thing that happened to them in recent weeks.

As Kat goes out with Cleves and Pax once again - this time to grab some milk - Parr looks impressed.

“That’s the fifth time this week she’s gone somewhere without you, Jane,” she says. “She’s been doing incredibly well.”

Jane nods. “I think she’s coming back, Parr.”

Boleyn, who had been reading at the counter, nods.

“Not a moment too soon, either.”


	5. Chapter 5

With Katherine back in normal spirits, things startled to settle down again. 

Pax had been the perfect companion for Kat during her rough time, helping her recover far quicker than expected. She was back to her usual, independent routine soon enough, much to Jane’s relief. 

With everything back in order, however, it was Pax that was starting to show some signs of causing trouble. 

It started in the summer. 

The girls had decided to take a family trip to a private lakehouse. It would be Pax’s first time at any body of water and Katherine was, admittedly, a bit nervous. 

“I’m sure he’ll be fine, love,” Jane says. “He’s never been bad before this.”

“I know, but I still worry,” she says. Pax put his head on her lap, sensing Kat’s anxiety. “What if he doesn’t like it?” 

“Then he stays out with us or he sits by the water,” Parr explains. “He’ll be taken care of.” 

The six women pile into the two cars: Parr, Aragon and Cleves in one, Howard, Jane, Boleyn and Pax in the other. 

Boleyn was sitting in the front while Jane drove, occasionally looking back at the duo in the back seat. Katherine held onto Pax as he leaned his head out the window, tail wagging excitedly.

“So far so good, eh, Kat?” Boleyn asks, smiling brightly at her. “He seems excited.”

Kat smiled as she gently pets the top of his head. He looks back at Kat and gives her a bunch of kisses.

“Good boy,” she mumbles happily. He looks back outside, clearly very excited.

When they get to the lakehouse, the others race for their rooms. With a “go!” from Katherine, Pax rushes all the way up the stairs and claims the attic room for Kat.

Boleyn gives such a disbelieving look, but Katherine smiles brightly and gives Pax lots of pets. “Good choice, Pax!” The doggo barks, jumping up on the windowsill ledge that served as a nice little reading nook as well as, clearly, a doggo hang out place. He looks out the window and towards the lake. Kat walks over to him, giving him gentle pets.

“We’re gonna go down to the lake tomorrow, Pax,” she says, smiling at him. “The water’s supposed to be calm, so… we should be alright, yeah?”

Pax looks over at her, tilting his head, before he gives her a bunch of kisses. Kat chuckles and nuzzles into him - just in time for Jane to walk in.

“Settling in fine, love?” Jane asks, giving her a smile. “I’m in the room right down the stairs on the right if you need me. Boleyn’s next door, then Cleves, and then Parr and Aragon have the two rooms on the ground floor.”

“Noted,” she says, face still in Pax’s fur. Pax looks back at Jane and his tail wags. Kat looks back up after a moment. “Pax likes the view.”

Jane moves over, sitting beside Pax. He looks up at Kat and, when she nods, moves over to Jane, putting his head on her lap. Kat tilts her head.

“Are you nervous, mum?”

Jane chuckles, giving Pax a few pets. “A little bit,” she admits. “I was never a real fan of water, admittedly. But this should be fine.” 

“If all else fails, then we just hang out on the shore, right?” Kat asks. “It’ll be fun!”

Jane nods to herself, continuing to pet the fluffy dog in front of her. She gives him one more pet before moving away and back to the door. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow, sweetheart.”

“Goodnight!” Kat says, watching as she closes the door. She looks back out at the water for a moment until she hears Pax yawn. With a chuckle, she nods at him. “Alright, bedtime.”

They end up sleeping in a bit more than usual; Boleyn is the one that walks up the stairs to wake the two up. When she sees Kat snuggled up to Pax, using the dog as a pillow, she can’t help but chuckle happily. 

“Come on, you two,” Boleyn says, gently nudging Kat’s shoulder. Kat wakes up slowly but surely, trying to hide in Pax’s fur for a moment. When Boleyn just continues to poke her, Kat wakes up fully.

“Come on, Kit, we’re gonna go to the lake in a few minutes,” she says. “You gotta get dressed.”

Kat mumbles something but slowly sits up.

“I’ll be downstairs in a little bit.” she mumbles, gently scratching Pax’s ear.

Boleyn smiles. “Jane’ll be up in ten.” she says, as way or warning. Kat yawns and nods.

Nine minutes later, Kat and Pax are downstairs, waiting on the couch. They’re the first out the door when everyone else is ready.

Kat looks apprehensive yet excited as she moves towards the beach. Pax, for his part, just seems to think that it’s a walk and nothing more, until they stop and start to set up the base for the day.

“Alright then,” Parr says, looking over at Kat. “Let’s see how he does, yeah? If he hates it, we can move around a bit.”

Kat nods, looking down at Pax, who’s already been commandeered by Cleves. With a gentle whistle, Pax is back at her side as she walks towards the water. He follows happily, but stops just before he gets splashed by a few soft waves. The water itself was calm and a fairly good temperature, which Kat was grateful for as she moved in. Pax barked a few times, tilting his head in confusion, but Kat continued down. Cleves stayed by Pax’s side in case he got a bit too panicked, but in general he just seemed curious.

Once Kat was waist deep, she turned around. “Come here, boy!”

He doesn’t move.

Cleves tilts her head, kneeling down to his level. “Don’t you wanna go say hi to Kat, Pax?” She asks, gently scratching the back of his head. He looks down at the water, sniffs it a bit, flinches when it hits his nose and shakes his head wildly before looking back at Kat. 

With a gentle, cautious step, he steps forward.

Then another step.

Eventually, he’s at the point where he has to swim to get any farther, and he seems pretty nervous.

Kat gives him a wave. “Come here, boy! It’s alright, see?” She lays in the water for a moment, pretending to swim before standing back up. “Come here, Pax!”

He tilts his head, sitting in the calm water… but then Jane gently moves past him. With a smile and a gentle pat on his head, he follows her deeper in.

Jane meets up with Kat just as Pax gets to her. Kat’s absolutely delighted.

By the end of the day, Pax has turned into a swimming pro, playing with all the queens in and out of the water. Aragon enjoys throwing the water ball into the lake for him to fetch, Boleyn plays tag with him, Cleves and Parr are sitting with their feet barely in the water for when he needs to rest and Katherine and Jane are wading. Soon enough Jane’s anxiety over the lake clear up as well, much to Kat’s excitement. 

All in all, the day turns out fine, with Pax getting plenty of attention from the queens as well as from social media once the queens start sharing photos and videos of him.

“He’s just… so well trained,” Cleves remarks to Katherine, watching him play with Jane and Boleyn. “Just incredible.”

“Yeah, I’m glad we’ve not had a problem with him yet,” Kat says with a smile.

No, their first major “problem” with him would come in the winter.

A few months later, snow was falling in London as the girls wrapped up their last show before a long weekend. Pax had, as always, been on his best behavior, and Kat was ever thankful for it. He’d been in their lives for about half a year now and had never shown any sort of disobedience, going above and beyond the call of duty sometimes. 

Which is why it was so surprising when he did what he did that night. 

Jane had gotten him a big bed for the dressing room that he used while Kat was in there; it was especially nice and warm today because it was right next to the heater. 

Katherine thought nothing of it when he went straight to his bed when they walked in; it was rather chilly in the theater that day and she couldn’t blame him for wanting to get some warmth. Knowing that the house should be pretty toasty, she couldn’t wait to get home and cuddle up to Pax with a hot cocoa. 

She speedran through her breakdown, getting dressed in her normal clothes in record time. 

“Come on, Pax, we gotta get goin’!” Katherine says, standing up after getting her shoes on. She gets to the door and reaches her hand behind her; every single day before this, he’d put his head right up against her hand.

Today, she only finds air.

Kat blinks, looking down at her empty hand, then looks back at Pax. He’s sitting in the bed that Jane had gotten him, looking away but clearly side-eyeing Kat.

“Pax?”

Kat walks over, crouching down next to him. His tail wags and he nuzzles into the touch, tail wagging gently.

“Did you hear me before?” Kat asks, tilting her head. “We gotta go-”

But then, he suddenly turns his head sharply, avoiding looking at Kat directly. 

Kat frowns deeper. “Jane?”

Seymour pokes her head in from where she was in the hallway with Cleves. They both walk in. “What’s wrong, love?” 

“It’s Pax, he won’t come,” Katherine says, frowning. “Pax, we gotta go.”

Pax ruffs. Twice. 

Kat blinks. 

“Pax?”

Another bark. 

“Pax, come.”

He dramatically looks away… well, kind of. He’s looking at her from the corner of his eye. 

“Oh?” Katherine says, looking highly dramatic. “Is that how it’s gonna be, Paxy?”

His tail is wagging and he continues to only give her side-eye. 

Jane tilts her head. “Is he… not obeying you?”

Katherine marches right over to him and narrows her eyes. “Get out of the bed, Pax.”

A ruff. 

“Don’t sass me!”

Another ruff. 

“If you don’t move, I’ll get Boleyn to try to put heels on your paws again.”

A big bark and a growl and that’s it. He squirms in his bed, tail wagging as he looks up. 

Katherine chuckles, leaning down to pet him. 

“I know it’s warm in here, boy,” Katherine says gently. “But it’ll be even warmer at home! And we can cuddle, don’t you want that?”

He tilts his head like he’s considering it. Then, with a smile, Kat moves away. 

“Let’s go, boy!”

This time, he obeys, padding over happily. 

“He was being a brat, wasn’t he?” Jane asks, looking down at him. 

“I think he just doesn’t want to be cold,” Kat replies. “It’s fine, that’s the only time he’s ever not obeyed me.”

“He was cold, eh?” Jane smiles. “I have an idea.”

And that is how Pax got his first poncho. 


	6. Chapter 6

“Hey, Kit? Can you help me with this?”

Katherine and Pax both looked up at the same time to find Catherine of Aragon peeking into the room. Kat walked towards her, Pax following, and noted the oversized hat and gloves.

“Gardening again?” Kat asks, a bright smile on her face as she follows Catherine outside.

Catherine nods. “Putting in some Orchids. It’ll make a nice addition to the others. And I think you and Paxy here can help,” she says, smiling as she kneels down next to an open area. She pats the ground next to her and, with a nod from Katherine, Pax sits down, tail wagging.

“Ok, Pax, here’s what we’re going to do,” Catherine says, gently petting the dog while nodding towards a few orchids. “Kat picks which ones to put where, Pax helps me put them in.”

Katherine tilts her head in thought, trying to figure out just  _ how _ that’s about to happen, before her eyes widen with understanding.

“Oh! Okay!”

She looks at the flowers, quick to figure out which will go where, before she hands the first one to Catherine. Catherine smiles and points at the spot where it’s to be planted.

“Okay, Pax!” She says with a grin. “Dig!”

Pax’s tail wags harder as he looks up at Katherine, almost as if he can’t believe he’s being given the command to dig. When Katherine nods, he instantly gets to work, digging right where Catherine tells him to. He has to be pushed a bit away, but his tail wags even more when he sees Catherine planting the flower. He seems to get the hint then, digging until he’s gently pushed back, helping Kat and Catherine plant.

By the time they’re done, the flowerbed looks beautiful and while they both are a bit dirtier than usual, the smiles on their faces is too good to ignore.

“Thank you for the help, you two,” Catherine says, kissing Pax on the top of his head and giving Catherine a side hug. “You know, we should do that more often.”

Katherine nods with a grin. “Yeah, I would really love that, Catherine.” she looks down at Pax, who is being led upstairs by Cathy and Jane for a bath. “He did wonderfully, hm? A great helper.”

“I figured as much, you’ve taught him really well,” Catherine compliments. “Now come on, while he’s getting cleaned up, we can do the same and then make some cookies for the others, hm?”

It was through that interaction that it became known that Pax could basically be taught anything… almost to a fault, which Jane would later learn.

It was a quiet Monday morning. The queens had the day off, so they all used it to get some errands done.

Jane had just finished meal prep for the queens when she heard the tell-tale jingle of Pax’s paws on the floor. With a bright smile, she looks up to find the doggo in question, loyally following his mistress into the room.

Katherine smirks at Jane.

“Hey, Janey!”

Jane stops the needlework and slowly looks up at her daughter. The look of mischief that she sees in the girl’s eye reminds her of Anne…

… which can only mean trouble.

Still, she smiles gently at her girl, giving Kat her full attention.

“Hello love, what can I help you with?”

Katherine is practically giddy as she stands right in front of Jane.

“I taught Pax a new trick!” 

Jane tilts her head curiously, trying to figure out the play here; Anne is hiding in the back, trying to be sneaky, but Jane can also see Anna peeking right above Anne around the corner, then Cathy, then Catherine as well - the last of which was the most surprising part. Anna looks the most worried and Anne slowly brings a phone out to record, and Jane can’t help but think that she’s in for something interesting to say the least.

Jane hums in thought for a moment before she nods, putting her work down and giving her a smile. When Pax comes over, practically begging for pets, Jane is happy to oblige.

“Alright, Kit-Kat,” Jane says, tone light and teasing, “let’s see what you taught Pax.”

Katherine stands up straight, looking down at Pax. Pax’s tail wags as he looks back up at her.

“Okay Pax,” Kat says, smiling at her. “Play Heart of Stone!”

Jane, confused, looks down at Pax, who seemingly is getting ready for something, paws shuffling in place as he lifts his head and-

He howls.

It’s not  _ just _ a howl; it’s long and high-pitched. As much as Jane hates to admit it, it kind of reminds her of the-

“He can do the whistle tone!” 

Jane rolls her eyes as Anne practically falls over laughing. Pax’s tail wags hard as he’s praised for his new skill.

“Yes, yes, laugh it up, you lot,” Jane says. “Great trick you’ve taught him, Kat.”

Kat chuckles and goes to Anne, watching the video a few times. Cathy and Catherine move away, the spectacle over, and Anna is the one to go and gently poke Kat on the shoulder.

Kat’s grinning from ear to ear at her, but that changes with Anna points to Jane.

Kat’s smile falls as she looks at Jane; her mum was looking at the dog, gently petting his head. Pax has his head in Jane’s lap, looking up at her with what Katherine sees as concern. It’s exactly what he does when Kat’s not feeling too great.

Jane looks completely fine, not even remotely upset, but Kat knows better. She knows what her mum looks like when she’s hiding her emotions, when she’s bottling things up.

It’s exactly what’s happening here, she’s sure of it.

Did she go too far?

Kat sits down next to Jane, gently putting a hand on hers. Jane looks up, a bit startled out of her thoughts, looking down at the hand before she looks back up at Katherine.

“Something wrong, love?”

Katherine bites her lip nervously before continuing:

“I… I think I need to apologize.” Kat says softly. “I’ll get Anne to delete the video.”

“Oh! I, uh-” Jane starts, going red with embarrassment. “No, no, you don’t need to do that, it’s not that big of a deal, love, I’m fine-”

“But you’re not, I can see that,” Katherine says quietly. “I went over a line with it, I’m sorry. I’ll make sure never to use that trick again - and I’ll make sure no one else does, either.” When Jane looks conflicted, Kat gently smoothes out her hair. “You know you can talk to me, right?”

Jane takes a deep breath and nods.

“I’m a bit annoyed by it, honestly,” Jane admits, looking down at the dog and gently scratching behind his ear. “I get that people make fun of it out of love, that people are impressed by it, but I just… I get embarrassed by it.”

Katherine listens intently, nodding once Jane’s done.

“I understand, and I’m sorry for making you feel that way,” Katherine says, gently pulling Jane in for a hug. Jane immediately falls into it, per usual. “I’ll stop from now on. I’m really sorry-”

“It’s fine, Kit-” Jane interrupts, but Kat shakes her head.

“I made you uncomfortable! It’s not alright. But I’ll do better.” She smiles and looks down at Pax, who is clamoring to help Jane relax. When allowed, he jumps up to lick Jane’s cheek, attacking her with affection to help put a smile on her face. He does accomplish his mission, and Jane’s smiling a few moments later.

“Alright, alright, thank you Pax,” Jane says, chuckling as she calms the dog down. “Let’s go get something to eat, hm?”

Pax, with a yip, immediately follows his mistress and her mother.


	7. Chapter 7

“Hey, Jane?”

Jane Seymour was startled out of her book to find Anne standing in front of her, frowning.

Jane frowned back.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s Pax and Kat-“ Anne starts, but that’s all she can say before Jane’s instantly up, slightly panicked. Anne takes a second to put her hands up in a calming motion. “No, no, they’re fine. Well, Kat is fine. From what I can tell. Pax isn’t letting me get to Kat.”

Jane blinks. “What?”

Anne huffs. “We gotta head to the theatre and Kat’s not awake yet - can you help me get past the pup to wake her up?”

Jane blinks again. “What?”

Anne chuckles, offering her hand. “Come on, I’ll show you what I mean.”

Jane, still confused, takes the girl’s hand and follows.

When they get to the room, Jane is even more confused. Kat is there, noise cancelling headphones on, asleep in the bed, and Pax is laying on top of Kat, and he looks completely innocent.

“Watch,” Anne says, moving over to get to Kat... and there lies the problem: Pax growls. Loudly. Anytime Anne tries to go to take off the covers, Pax moves to block her, putting his snout on her hand and growling. He’s clearly not going to bite, but he is going to block.

Odd.

Jane narrows her eyes. “Pax, we need to get Kat ready for the show tonight!” Jane says, marching right over to the dog. She gently scratches behind his ears, giving him a kiss on the snout before shaking her head. “We need to wake her up. Alright?”

Jane goes for the covers, and Pax growls again, but this time softer. He whines when Jane looks at him, moving away from Jane’s hand, looking away but looking really sad...

... and Jane pulls back, looking at Anne.

“Can’t do it.”

“What?” Anne asks, giving an incredulous look.

“I can’t! It makes Pax too sad,” Jane says, gently petting Pax. “He gets sad and I don’t want him to be sad. It’s too much, even for me.”

“So you’re not affected by Kat’s puppy dog pout,” Anne says, “but you are affected by Pax’s? You must be joking.”

“Not always, but look at him! He’s so sad, Anne! They don’t know better, don’t you, boy?” Jane asks, smiling when Pax leans into her pets. “Good boy, Pax, it’s okay, we can give Kat a little bit more time...”

“But then Kat isn’t going to wake up in time for call, Jane, we all know she could sleep through the rapture with those headphones on.” Anne replies, sighing. “We gotta wake her up.”

Jane looks at the dog, then at the Kat, then at the dog again, and he’s whining and looking adorable and sad and babey and-

“Sorry, boy,” Jane mumbles, giving him another kiss on his forehead before she goes to gently take off the earphones.

Pax growls a bit louder, but it’s quelled when Kat stirs.

“Oh, hello,” Kat mumbles sleepily. “What time is it?”

“We have to get going to the theatre in 20 minutes,” Anne says. “Sorry to wake you, but we’ve got a show to do, Kit.”

Kat yawns, sitting up, and nods blearily. “Okay, okay, I’m coming-“

She yawns again, and that’s when Jane realizes it.

“You know,” Jane says, still petting Pax, who seems a little bit distressed, “there’s no reason for Pax to be that protective of Kat unless...” When she looks up at Kat, who won’t look at her, she knows she’s correct. “When did you go to bed, Kit?”

Kat huffs. “..... like, 3 AM.”

Anne gasps then. “What??? Why???”

“I missed Anna!” Katherine says with a pout. “I missed her a lot and I didn’t want to go to bed until she got home,” Katherine replies. “I’m sorry, I just... I missed her. That’s all.”

Jane gives her a sympathetic look before she pulls Kat close. “She’s snuggled up in her bed right now, Kit-Kat. Since she has the day off, she could afford to go to bed so late, but you...” Jane gently boops Kat’s nose, making Pax surge forward protectively. Pax stops, though, and just licks Jane’s cheek instead. “... need to wake up a bit, otherwise you’ll be down for the count before the show.”

Kat huffs. “Okay, okay, I’m going... let’s go, Pax, we gotta get ready for the show.”

Jane and Anne leave the room then, and Anne chuckles.

“I know she missed Anna an awful lot when she was away,” Anne says. “But I didn’t think she’d lose that much sleep over it, you know?”

“Kat really misses people when they’re away, even when she tries to hide it,” Jane explains. “I should have seen this coming, should have made her sleep with me last night, I’m sorry-“

“All of us probably should have seen this being a thing,” Anne admits. “And honestly, what are the chances you would have gotten any sleep if you stayed with her last night?” Anne shrugs. “I think Pax had it handled. He doesn’t have to get ready for the show, and we’re already a bit thin on alternates with Anna out already.”

Jane sighs but nods. “Yeah, I know, I just... don’t want Kat to do that to herself, you know?”

Anna nods, gently putting an arm around Jane’s shoulders. “I know, love, but we’ll talk with her later. We need to get going-“

“I’m coming!” Katherine says, having rushed to get her casual attire on and standing in front of the other two queens. She seems a bit breathless as she continues. “There, sorted, let’s go, I’m ready, I have my bag and everything, ready to get going right now.”

Jane and Anne looks at each other, then looks back at Katherine.

“You sure?” Anne asks.

Kat nods. “Sure as sure.”

“Hm, right, yeah,” Jane says, raising an eyebrow. “Didn’t forget anything?”

“No...” Kat starts, but then Anne points down. Pax also seems to have noticed, pawing at Kat’s legs before pawing at her socks.

No shoes.

“... oh. Right! Going! Come on, boy,” Kat says, rushing off as the other two queens chuckle and go downstairs. Pax loyally follows his master, tail wagging the entire time.

They arrive at the theatre, where Pax immediately goes to his normal spot in his dog bed. He watches Kat carefully as she gets herself ready for the show, whining any time she yawns.

Kat hears it and gives him a soft, sympathetic smile. “I know boy, I’m sorry, I won’t do that again,” Kat says, giving him some pets. She looks up at Jane, smiling. “Do you think sometime this week we can take him to the park? He hasn’t been there in a few days.”

“I think that sounds good, Kit, we’ll be sure to do so... how about on our day off?” Jane suggests, looking back at the girl. “We can make a day of it.”

Kat smiles. “I’d really like that! I’m sure Pax would too, wouldn’t you, Paxy?” She asks, kneeling down to hug him. He goes for licks but Kat avoids it; she’s got makeup on, after all.

The show goes as normal, with Pax sitting at his spot next to the stage manager, his new earmuffs in place to protect his hearing. Jane notices that he’s a bit less energetic than normal, and when she’s finished with Heart of Stone she moves to the wings to prepare for Haus of Holbein... only to find him curled up and asleep. The stage manager has put her jacket over him as he rests.

“I guess those headphones really work,” Jane says, chuckling as she gets her glasses.

Kat frowns, says nothing, and the show goes on.

At the end of the show, the queens get off stage and instantly to their dressing rooms... except for one.

“Where’s Kat?” Cathy asks, frowning. “I didn’t see her go upstairs, did you?”

Jane tilts her head. “No, actually, I thought she stayed behind to talk to Anna or someone,” Jane says with a frown. “Haven’t seen Pax either...”

“Oh, she’s still downstairs,” Joan says as she pokes her head into the dressing room. “Maggie is with her.”

“What’s she doing down there?” Jane asks, but when Joan shrugs, Jane gets dressed as quick as possible and heads down to see for herself.

Everyone else has left, save for Maggie, who is sitting on the stairs on her phone.

“Where’s Kat?” Jane asks, and Maggie looks up to point in the direction of the Stage Manager’s pedestal. Jane goes over...

... and smiles softly.

Kat is sitting on the ground, back against the pedestal, Pax asleep in her hold. She’s petting him gently, and... wait, she’s crying.

“Kat?” Jane asks, a bit worried as she sits down next to her. Kat instantly shushes Jane, which is more so surprising than anything. “Kat, what’s?”

“He stayed up with me all night,” Kat mumbles, looking down at the dog still asleep in her lap. “He stayed up with me all night, and now he’s sleepy, and he fell asleep.”

Jane makes an “oh” sound before she gently scratches behind Pax’s ears.

“He’s a good boy,” Jane says, smiling back at Kat, but Kat’s still sniffling.

“I made him stay up that late,” Kat says. “It’s my fault that he wasn’t feeling great today. I knew he was low on energy, but... it didn’t occur to me that that’s why until Heart of Stone. Because he fell asleep to it like a lullaby.”

“Like mother, like son,” Jane quips, chuckling when Kat buries her head in Pax’s fur to hide the blush. “It’s alright, love... but you need to get rest. And Pax does too. He’ll be just fine, he was just a little tired today.”

Kat sighs. “I’m sorry, Pax,” she mumbles into his fur, hugging him a bit tighter.

The tightness of the embrace makes him stir, and he moves around a bit to squirm in Kat’s hold, going for licks again. Kat chuckles as he squirms, eventually letting him do as he wanted.

“See? He’s fine, just a tired boy,” Jane replies with a grin. “It’ll be okay, love, let’s get him back home, okay?”

Kat nods. “I’ll be better with falling asleep at good hours. I promise.”

Jane kisses the side of her head, then Pax’s. “I know you will, love.”

Pax is all too happy to follow Kat upstairs, where she gets dressed and immediately heads out the door. Pax yawns a few times but is otherwise happy, tail wagging a bunch as he gets into the car.

As soon as they get home, Kat picks the dog up, instantly moving towards the stairs.

“Goodnight, love,” Jane says, smiling as Kat returns the statement before she goes to her room.

Anna, who was in the kitchen, raises an eyebrow. “Did she finally crash?”

“She didn’t, Pax did,” Jane replies, putting her stuff down on the kitchen counter and looking over at Anna. “When did you get in?”

“Four am, and she was awake,” Anna says, looking a bit apologetic. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think she’d wait up for me that late, especially when Pax was practically growling at her to go to bed.”

Jane sighs, getting a water. “Yeah, but I think she learned her lesson on how long she can stay up - not really for her, but for Pax.”

Anna nods, and Jane gathers her things, says goodnight, and heads upstairs.

She chuckles when she finds her door open.

She doesn’t say anything, just drops her things next to her desk and gets changed into pajamas. She looks at her bed just in time to find not only Kat, but Pax there as well, sprawled out on the bed.

“That’s cute, love,” Jane says quietly, “but I need some space too, you know.”

Pax huffs and Kat gently collects him, putting him at the foot of the bed. He sprawls out again and Kat curls up with Jane.

“Comfy?” Jane asks, and smiles when she only gets a sleepy “yes” as a response. “I love you, Kit.”

“I love you, too.”

Silence.

A ruff.

“You too, Pax!”


End file.
